Lionel Messi He started and played the 90 minutes of the game. 1-0 win of Argentina against Chili, on the second date of Group A of the America Cupbut some of his gestures worried to the audience. He looked somewhat sore, somewhat annoyed, static and, at the end of the match, the captain He confessed what happened to him.
Every time La Pulga grabs his leg or frowns a little, the alarms go off. Although he eventually feels fatigue, the usual thing is not to see him leave the field of play and against Chile it was no exception. Scaloni has said on other occasions that just by receiving a sign, he puts him to rest. But Messi is the one who decides and this time, he didn’t want to leave.
When the match ended, Ten admitted that he was touched: “My adductor got a little hard and I couldn’t keep it loose.it bothered me a little, but I was able to finish the game so I will see in these days how it evolves. I hope it’s nothing serious“.
To give more details, he explained: “It was at the beginning, in one of the first plays. I didn’t feel a puncture or tear but it did get hard. And it was difficult for me to move freely“.
In addition to the discomfort in his leg, Messi confessed that he had been ill these days: “I come from a couple of days with a sore throat, fever and maybe it took its toll on me“.
After getting the ticket to the quarterfinals with a goal by Lautaro Martínez, the National Team is already thinking about what is coming. The technical director Lionel Scaloni has already warned that at the close of the group stage against Peru he will choose to give minutes to those players who have not yet had the opportunity and thus they will also be able to rest some of the figures.
Will Messi be in the next formation? As he himself responded, he still doesn’t know. However, it is most likely that he will be preserved against Peru or that, at the very least, he will play less time to complete his recovery.
Messi’s game against Chile?
The number 10 had to deal with physical discomfort for much of the first half and, after a play with Gabriel Suazo, the concern began. He received the ball in the middle of the field and stuck to the sideline, while the Toulouse defender arrived at the wrong time and dislocated him with a strong tackle on the right back. The blow impacted Messi, who was treated immediately.
However, He could not be seen in his entirety because minutes later he showed signs of pain and began to stretch. But to the relief of Scaloni and the entire Albiceleste, he continued to play the match without problems and He had a very clear chance a few minutes later, with a left foot shot that hit the goal post defended by Claudio Bravo.
Despite physical limitations, Leo was always a concern for the Chilean defense with his indecipherable dribbling and good distribution of the ball to his teammates.
On plugin startup, Leo received from Julián Álvarez and decided to enable Nahuel Molinawho had a very clear chance, rejected by Bravo at the corner.
At 60 minutes he again started a clear play with an open pass to the left for the arrival of Nico González who finished with a lot of power and the crossbar returned it.
As the minutes and changes passed, Argentina lost control of the ball a little and Chile grew, which diminished Messi’s appearances in the game.
At 79 there was another clear one that could not end successfully. Argentina cut high and left Leo in front of the area, although instead of facing the goal, he preferred to pass it to Lautaro Martínez, introduced a few minutes earlier, who could not finish on goal.
As with almost all set pieces, at 87, he took the corner that ended in Lautaro Martínez’s goal, after a series of rebounds.
Beyond not scoring, Leo is key in all games and this was no exception, being the axis of Scaloni’s team’s football.
